U.S. military to air drop toxic mice on snakes in Guam
The U.S. military plans to air drop tens of thousands of dead mice laced with acetaminophen (Tylenol) onto foliage surrounding Andersen Air Force Base, in order to control the population of the brown tree snake. Acetaminophen is harmless to humans but toxic to the brown tree snake.
The snakes are natives of Australia, and came to Guam on board military boats after WW II. The native bird population is defenseless against the snake and has wiped out almost all of Guam's native birds, making most of the species extinct.
The dead mice will be fitted with tiny parachutes, so they'll catch on trees to make them more attractive to the snakes. The fear is that a similar infestation of brown tree snakes to Hawaii would cause over $2 billion in damage per year.
The new mouse drop follows a pilot experiment in 2010 that worked well. However, activists from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) are expressing outrage that snakes will suffer, though hopefully the snakes at least won't get headaches. AP and CNN (9/2010) and Russia Today
For all the talk about pollution and global warming, the introduction of the brown tree snake into Guam is a real cause/effect environmental disaster. Glad to see they finally came up with a solution, though the damage is already done.
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